Yngvar Nielsen (29 July 1843,

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

– 2 March 1916) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and pioneer of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in Norway.

Background

Nielsen was born in

. He was the son of Norwegian Telegraph Director,

Carsten Tank Nielsen Carsten Tank Nielsen (18 December 1818 – 1 August 1892) was a Norwegian civil servant and government official. He was the first director of the Norwegian Telegraph ('' Telegrafverket'' now Telenor) from 1854 until his death in 1892. He and his ...

(1818–92) and Alvilde Olsen (1821–1890). Nielsen descended on both father's and mother's side from the established civil and commercial bourgeoisie. His grandfather, Jacob Nielsen, had been one of Christiania's largest lumber dealers and director of the National Bank.

Career

Nielsen studied philology and took a linguistic-historical degree in 1865. After three years as a teacher at Nissens Latin School (interrupted by several rounds of archival studies in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

), he was employed in the

National Archival Services of Norway The National Archival Services of Norway ( no, Arkivverket) is a Norwegian government agency that is responsible for keeping state archives, conducts control of public archiving and works to preserve private archives. It is subordinate to the Mi ...

(''Arkivverket'') from 1869 to 1978 and at the same time served as librarian at the

Deichman Library Oslo Public Library (officially called in Norwegian ''Deichman bibliotek'', Deichman Library) is the municipal public library serving Oslo, Norway and is the country's first and largest library. It employs over 300 people and has over 20 branches ...

. He was appointed manager of the University's Ethnographic Museum in 1877, and the following year he became research fellow in history and geography. In 1880, he completed his philosophical doctorate thesis on the council Riksrådet. Nielsen was an important advisor in Norway to King

Oscar II of Sweden and Norway Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

. He had close connections to the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

, and was the tutor of the Swedish princes

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

and

Eugen Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pat ...

during their stay at the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in the 1880s. Nielsen was chairman of the

Norwegian Historical Association The Norwegian Historical Association ( no, Den norske historiske forening, HIFO) is a Norwegian historical organization. The Association was founded in 1869 by Michael Birkeland and Ludvig Ludvigsen Daae. It works to promote historical research an ...

, and edited the journal '' Historisk Tidsskrift'' from 1903 to 1912. Together with

Ludvig Ludvigsen Daae Ludvig Ludvigsen Daae (7 December 1834 – 17 March 1910) was a Norwegian historian and author. He was a professor at the University of Oslo for more than thirty years. Biography He was born in Aremark in Østfold and died in Kristiania (now Oslo) ...

he co-edited the journal ''Vidar'' 1887–89. Nielsen was a board member of the

Norwegian Trekking Association The Norwegian Trekking Association ( no, Den norske turistforening, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism i ...

from 1879 and Chairman 1890–1908. In 1879 he released the travel guide '' Reisehaandbog over Norge'', popularly called ''Yngvar'', which appeared in 12 editions until 1915 and came to play an important role in the spread of tourism. His

guide book A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

s were published in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. Probably Nielsen's most important work as an historian was ''Lensgreve Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg'' (three volumes, 1901–1902), his biography of

Johan Caspar Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg (21 September 1779 – 27 August 1840) was a Norwegian statesman and nobleman. He played an active role in the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and was the first native Norwegian to hold the ...

(1779–1840). Wedel-Jarlsberg played an active role in the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...

in 1814 and was the first native Norwegian to hold the post of Governor of Norway during the union with Sweden.

Personal life

In October 1870, he married Karen Anne Juliane Hedvig

Wedel-Jarlsberg The Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg (also ''Wedel Jarlsberg'') is a title of the Norwegian nobility and of the Danish nobility. The family of Wedel-Jarlsberg is a branch of the larger family von Wedel, which comes from Pomerania, Germany. Family members ...

(1847–1927), the daughter of Peder Anker Count Wedel-Jarlsberg (1909–1893). Nielsen was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

from 1875 and the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The s ...

from 1897. He received Reward Medal from King Oscar II in 1882, was appointed Knight of the Order of St. Olav in 1894 and received the Commander Cross 1911. He was appointed Knight of the

Nordstjärneorden The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of th ...

and appointed to several other foreign orders.

Selected works

*''En Christianiensers Erindringer'' (1910) *''Under Oscar IIs Regjering'' (1912) *''Fra Johan Sverdrups Dage'' (1913) *''Da Unionen skulde briste'' (1915)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Yngvar 1843 births 1916 deaths People from Arendal Conservative Party (Norway) politicians 20th-century Norwegian historians Norwegian geographers Order of the Polar Star Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters 19th-century Norwegian historians Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala